Wheel handling apparatus



Dec. 12, 1944. F. ROBERSON WHEEL HANDLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 17, 1944 1386- 1944- F. ROBERSON WHEEL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 17, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 grime/Wm Filed Jan. 17, 1944 3 sheets sheet 3 QNJ 1 we 1 for, rflqy 00621900,

Elam/W Patented Dec. 12, 1944 on-1T so entrain-:1" nearer 'WHEELiHANDLINGAPPARATUS FornewRobersonlMoliile,1Aila. Application January 17, 1944,:senamo.ranrcm vThis ..invention relates .to an :apparatus .for handling large and heavy ..demountable vehicle ..wheels {and .the like, to facilitate mounting 101 demounting of 1 the, same. I The primary object ofthe-present invention is ct providenan, al pa1 atusv by means. of which large and .heavy .veh-.iole wheels may the effectively handled sotastdquiekly and easily mount :or..demount thesameWithltheexpenditure of: a minivmumsamountrof;manualslabor Another ..object of the. invention .is t -proV-ide an. apparatus .of Y the..above. kind which isccmgparatiuely simple and.durab1e in construction, r easy touse,,- and highly. efficient-in operation. .Otherebjectaand features .of -.the invention .rwillhecome,ap arentfrom, the following: descripttion .whenconsideredin connectionwithtt-her accompanying (drawings. .The invention consists inthe, novlform, combination and arrangement ..of parts hereinafter more l fully described, shown ..in ..the ..accompanying .drawings, 1 and claifhed.

. ilnithe drawings wherein .likereferencercharacters indicate correspondingparts throughout .1 the. several. l views v ,Eigure 1.11sv ,attop plan view ofsa wheel handlin apparatus ..constructed .in 1 accordance .with the ;;..p17esent.invention. V

Figure. 2. isle: side elevation; thereof.

..Eigure3 is an:enlargedrear:elevationaoflthe .zsame.

Figure .4 ..is Y a vertical transverse section taken onsline 14-41 \ofiEigure ;2.

."JFfig ure15. is. .a ,view,,.partly. insection and partly .rearelevation, of the vertically ,adjnsta-ble, wheel-supporting carriage forming .partsof the apparatus. "Figure 6 isa verticalsectionltakenwomlinen-+6 *of"Figure '5. l 1

Figurefl; is;an.,enlarged fragmentary plan view showing one of 'thefront supporting wheels and the adjacent front handle of the apparatus.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the construction shown in Figure 7, partly broken away and in section.

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of one of the forks which hold the wheel in a vertical position, the View being taken on the plane of line 9--9 of Figure 1; and

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9,- taken on the plane of line Ill-4i] of Figure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the present apparatus includes a horizontal frame embodying a transverse beam 6 provided at its ends with forwardly projecting spaced parallel arms 1 and intermediate its ends with suitably braced rear- (BREE-$65.4)

wardly ,projecting .spacedparalliel .armsft. Se- .curedcon the ends Ofanms! are mounts Qffor .swivlldpaster wheels '10, and spanning .the rear .erfdsof armsfl isua platell having caster *5 wheels.IZsWivlldjtherin, as atwl3. Thecaster Wheelsllll andIZ support 'the'frame in a lowposition. above the. ground iarfd permit the. apparatus to ..be readily pushed or pulled in the desired 'di; 'rection. To facilitate such;pushing orpulling, 1U a.'main' rear handle 14" is hingedzto' the, plate l l, as at l5, for vertical swinging movement, and supplemental "handles "It are hinged at H to brackets I8..that. are swivelled ,on the mounts'9. "This permits I 'handles [6 .to swing "horizontally l5 andwertically.

Rigid with "and rising'from the rear ends of "ELI'IDSTT 'lareverticakchannds 1'9 forming guideways'-'for a vertically adjustable wheel support- -i-ng carriageizfi. L'Ihis carriageincludes ever- '20 tical p'late- 2 I "having. arearwardlyyprojecting top flange 22 resting and secured .upon a pair of spacedjacks23' mounted upon .a plateZd secured l th" under sides 5 of and connecting the 'forwar'd-ends-o'f *arms d. Welded or otherwisedixed 25 "intermediate their ends to'the front Of plate i. I are spaced horizontal shafts 25, disposed one above the other a-nd'ha /ing-rollers"26 journaled -o-n the ends-thereof. The rollers '26' are engaged im the channels F9 to guide the carriage "for free 30 vertical movement, an d sli'dable on the shafts YES ..wat:opposite. sidescof plate 72 here spaced uprights ril'hwhich iare :provi'dedwat their "lower ends with i'forwardly rproiecnng :parallel horizontal :axles 1.28 on which-tare 1ournaled elongated rollers :29. -Journaled.onthe; plate 2 I between shafts E5 is. a ,horizontaL-adjusting,screw 30 whose oppositely "threaded endsextend through-and have threaded ..engagcment in ..the ..uprights .21. A longitudi- '..nally ..dispose'd .shanm -is..journa1ed .through 40 plate'fli and has a hard crank 32 on its rear end, a gear 33 being fixed on the forward end of shaft 3| and meshing with a gear 3d secured on screw 3! One of the rollers 29 has a sprocket wheel fixed on its rear end at 35, and a sprocket chain 36 passes around this sprocket wheel and a further sprocket wheel fixed at 31 on a shaft 38 iournaled in the upper end of the adjacent up right 21, and provided at its rear end with a hand crank 39. The jacks 23 are preferably of a well-known hydraulic type adapted to be extended by operation of a pump handle M) and lowered by operation handle 4| used to actuate pressure-release valves of the jacks.

On some occasions, it is desirable tofix the front caster wheels l0 against swivelling and for forward travel of the apparatus straight ahead. For this purpose, the vertical pintles of the wheels I have flanges 42 on their upper ends which have marginal notches 43 adapted to be alined with vertical sockets 44 of the mounts 9 so as to receive a locking pin 45.

Fixed to the channels l9 are vertical barrels 46 in which are journaled shafts 41 provided at their upper ends with forwardly projecting relatively long horizontal arms 48. Brackets 49 are slidable on the arms 48 for adjustment longitudinally of the latter, set screws 50 being provided to secure them in adjusted position. Associated with each bracket 49 is a substantially V-shaped horizontal fork arranged to engage and partially embrace the adjacent side of the vehicle wheel near the top to hold it in a vertical position while resting upon the rollers 29, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 by dotted lines. The forks 5| have central depending shafts 52 rotatably received in openings of brackets 49, so that they can be rotarily adjusted to properly engage the wheel. Set screws 53 are used to secure the forks 5| in adjusted position. At their lower ends, the shafts 41 have crank arms 54 connected by links 55 with levers 56 on the ends of a transverse rock shaft 51 journaled on the rear portion of plate II and having a central pedal 58. Springs 59 act upon shafts 41 to normally swing the forks 5| inwardly to engage the wheel, and depression of pedal 58 will swing them away from the wheel against the action of springs 59.

In operation, the apparatus is rolled into position so that the rollers 29 are disposed transversely beneath the wheel W near opposite sides of the latter, pedal 58 being depressed to hold the forks 5| outwardly. The crank 32 is then operated to adjust the rollers 29 toward each other or away from each other the proper distance to best engage and support the vehicle wheel, depending upon the size of the latter. Jacks 23 are then extended by operation of handle 40 to elevate the rollers 29 into supporting engagement with the vehicle wheel. Pedal 58 is then released so that forks 5| swing into engagement with the wheel to hold it in a vertical position, said forks being adjusted along the arms 48 and about the axes of shafts 52 if necessary. Thus, the vehicle wheel can be readily demounted when unfastened with respect to its shaft or hub, by simply rolling the apparatus outwardly from the vehicle. To mount the wheel, it is simply positioned on the apparatus, and raised or lowered to the proper position by operation of jacks 23. The vehicle wheel is then rotated by operation of crank 38 to aline the key and key-way or the lug bolts and bolt openings of the vehicle wheel fastening means, whereupon the apparatus may be moved toward the vehicle to mount the wheel and permit easy fastening of the same in place. Due to the various adjustments which are provided, the apparatus can be used effectively to handle both single and dual wheels of many sizes, and its use requires the expenditure of little manual labor in handling even the largest and heaviest wheel that would have to be taken apart for handling them without the alpparatus. The handle I6 may engage hooks 60 to be supported in a rearwardly swungout-of-the-way position. I

While I have shown and described what is believed to be a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be evident that the invention is susceptible of modification and various changes in details of construction.

What I claim is:

1. In a vehicle wheel handling apparatus of the character described, a horizontal wheeled frame, a vertically adjustable vehicle wheel supporting carriage mounted on the frame, and manually releasable means carried by the frame for engaging the upper portion of the vehicle wheel to sustain it in a vertical position on the carriage, said last named means including horizontal swinging wheel-engaging forks mounted on the frame, and yieldable means acting to normally swing said forks toward each other for engagement with the wheel. j

2. In a vehicle wheel handling apparatus of the character described, a horizontal wheeled frame, a vertically adjustable vehicle wheel supporting carriage mounted on the frame, and manually releasable means carried by the frame for engaging the upper portion of the vehicle wheel to sustain it in a vertical position on the carriage, said carriage including spaced uprights slidably mounted for horizontal adjustment toward or away from each other, manually operable means for slidably adjusting said uprights, and vehicle wheel supporting rollers rotatably carried by and projecting forwardly from said uprights.

3. In a vehicle wheel handling apparatus of the character described, a horizontal wheeled frame, a vertically adjustable vehicle wheel supporting carriage mounted on the frame, and manually releasable means carried by the frame for engaging the upper portion of the vehicle wheel to sustain it in a vertical position on the carriage, said carriage including spaced uprights slidably mounted for horizontal adjustment toward or away from each other, manually operable means for slidably adjusting said uprights, and vehicle wheel supporting rollers rotatably carried by and projecting forwardly from said uprights, and manually operable means for rotating one of said supporting rollers.

FORNEY ROBERSON. 

